Orange box question.

[some random guy]

Since you guys know a lot about gaming I thought I'd ask you this question.
I'm going to get The orange box in about 2 weeks but I haven't played the original Half life. Do I need to know the backstory to really follow the game and if so, can someone tell me roughly what happened in the previous game?

 

[Nukelear]

HL1 was rather complex. It has been a long time since I played it so I only remember the basic storyline which they do make references to quite often in HL2 but it isn't essential to understanding what they are talking about. If you are into the whole lore and overall storyline then yes you really should play HL1 first. If you just want to blow things up then ignore the story for the most part and have fun.

 

[Dark Wingstalker]

Half life 1 and half life 2 are the most loosely linked sequels ever.

I mean, Hl1 sets it all up, but the only real thing it will give you is a tendency to try and blow the shit out of the vortigaunts and waste all your ammo :[

 

[Katana314]

when I played HL2, I felt like there were a lot of HL1 references I wasn't getting. There weren't. The game often keeps you in the dark anyway.
I wouldn't say you need HL1. But you can probably get it very cheaply anyway (like $10 on Steam, $20 with some other games)

 

[sergeantz]

In the previous game you are going to another regular workday at the Black Mesa research facility. There, a portal opens up between earth and the vortigant homeworld. You kill a bunch of aliens on Earth, and eventually make your way to the alien homeworld and kill the leader. It is at this point that the G-man, who you've been catching glimpses of throughout the game, give you a choice. You can work for him, or you can die on the alien planet. And the game ends with you believing that you saved the day.

A greatly abbreviated version of the game, but there you go.

 

[Nukelear]

Makes you wonder what Black Mesa's recruiting questioner would look like.

Application for:
[ ] Bumbling scientist
[ ] Oblivious security guard
[ ] Professional soldier that can't aim worth a damn

Preferred method of death:
[ ] Mind controlled by headcrabs
[ ] Mutilated horribly by various aliens
[ ] Crushed in pointless stomping machinery
[ ] Electrocuted by frequently faulty electric conduits
[ ] Shot by some random guy in an orange suit who never seems to die
[ ] Terrible assault on an alien dimension
[ ] Science experiment gone wrong...again.

 

[CallMeDeadly]

when I played HL2, I felt like there were a lot of HL1 references I wasn't getting. There weren't. The game often keeps you in the dark anyway.
I wouldn't say you need HL1. But you can probably get it very cheaply anyway (like $10 on Steam, $20 with some other games)

I agree. You really won't need HL1 to understand the HL2. But then again the HL1 kind of explains a little bit of the story. When I first played HL1, I found that all Black Mesa did was create a type of portal for aliens to get through by mistake, and you needed to escape and clean up the mess. When I played Hl2 I was wondering how I got here, but when I re-looked at the end of Hl1, I realized that portal you taken for accepting the job of the G-man must have taken you here. Kind of impressive to find that the G-man is somewhat of a type of time/dimension traveler. The game is very amazing and I say both deserve to be played. I wonder what Half-life 3 would be like. Well, I was wondering, why is Half-Life called "Half-Life"?

 

[Hengst2404]

I think the main advantage is seeing the progression of Freeman, a character you only know about through playing. That and getting to know and see some of the characters, like Barney and how they tie into the story. Plus I think Gordon thinking he saved the earth only to wake up and see it all going down gives you an idea as to his motivations. Mainly I think Half-Life was a solid and fun FPS title worth a play through and available really cheaply. In fact, that is the one thing I would have killed to have in the Orange Box, bad older graphics and all.

 

[xbeaker]

If you played the first game, there are a bunch of referances in the second game where you go "Oh wow.. it's [Random HL1 referance]" But nothing is so important that it will hinder your enjoyment of the second game. Especailly since, as many have pointed out, the second game takes place in a world far removed from what you know at the end of the first game.

CallMeDeadly: A Half Life is the amount of time it takes for an element to decay it's natural (usually radioactive) energy. So they may say the half-life of Uranium is 50,000 years (not a fact, I am just guessing) which mean that if you have an ounce of Uranium it will be half as radio active in 50,000 years. Then 1/4 as radio active in 100,000 years.. etc. Black Mesa was primarily a materials research lab and the orange suit you are wearing is a modified radiation suit. It is all just loosely tied into the theme.

 

[ROBO_LEADER]

While to enjoy Half Life 2, you really don't need to play the original, I would advise it. Every once in a while things tend to be pulled from the first game, and will sort of give you a "So that's what's going on..." moment from time to time, and while Dark Wingstalker made a good point in saying HL2 is a very loose sequel, the original is still worth well beyond the $10.

 

[shadow skill]

I loved the first Half Life, I wish there was more exposition in the first game though. I really do not like the rather weak way shooters including Half Life present their stories often. I can't really speak for Half Life 2 because I am still in the beginning of the game.

 

[ROBO_LEADER]

I thought the lack of exposition worked well in the first game. The idea that this is the first outbreak, the first invasion, the first time you personally are coming across all that is happening around you, and that nearly everyone who knew about it all beforehand are dead makes extremely little exposition necessary, and has the player figure out what is going on for themselves. Think about it, isn't it odd how a large group of military forces were being specifically trained for an op at Black Mesa? Don't a few of the trips to Xen offer some insight as to what is going on, behind the scenes?

HL2 is able to successfully use large amounts of exposition, mainly because it has been about a decade since the original incident, more is understood, and more needs to be explained so that the player doesn't feel like practically everyone knows what is going on but them.